How much do you make selling on e-bay?

[moonwolf]

Do you generate a satisfactory extra bit of income from selling stuff on e-bay? Do you have a good rate of selling that which you list to sell?

What sort of items have you sold on e-bay?

[Canucklehead]

Well my father makes about $800/month on ebay selling vacuumes, floor polishers and related stuff. He also sells any antique food processing equip for the kitchen as well as games. For instance, right now he has a can sealer (for canning) he found for $1CDN and it is up to $37USD last I checked. If you can find something in your area which is in large supply you can do quite well.

The other thing is we are in Canada and he buys in CDN$ and sells in US$ which helps but the shipping is more which scares some people off.


E.

[crystalniche]

That depends on what month it is. I rarely list during the summer months but during the Fall, Winter and Spring I do list. If I really work at it I can make $1,000 or more in a months time. I have never tried doing it full time, only part time after work at night. I know one man who makes over $3,000 each month working part time and he says that he could do much better if he put his mind to it and really worked at it. I believe him as he has never lied to me yet and we've known him for a whole lot of years. There are people out there who make their entire living on eBay. I'm not one of them!

[Ozark-Dew]

I once sold a rolling pin for $1140.11, the buyer purchased it for his newborn daughter's playroom. The rolling pin was a friend's from her mother's childhood - her brother and she split the earnings.

[sandave88]

ebay beware of paypal and ebay fees. I sold clothing,baby items,old toys collectibles and fiestaware. There are some great people out there but also some not so great. I had complaints and had to give items free to people and pay shipping and handling on those items. I thought I was making money but it turns out Ebay and paypal were making my money... think twice before doing it

[CraftyDiva]

If you can find a unique item that no one else can get you'd do well. The thing with eBay is other sellers see something selling well and start to sell the same item.

If you have something that you make it may be easier to make a buck till someone starts to copy it and sells it also. Just have to stay ahead of the wolf pack and keep changing your items.

I think the way to go is to find a company that will "Dropship" for you. There are tons now that do that on eBay, but what you need to find is a company that has a unique stock and doesn't dropship for every Tom,Dick,and Harry. This way your only out the listing fees and any other fees that you may use for payments from the buyer to you. No inventory to carry out of pocket and hoping it sells so your not stuck with it or under selling just to break even if your lucky.

[katlupe]

I sell on Ebay and my own website www.larrylupole.com and that is how I earn a living. I went through some bad times the past few months, but now things are changing. I have a Ebay store and that does make a difference. Plus the more stuff you list, the more you sell.

I have never had any of those problems of having to give things away for free. If they need a refund, they have to send the item back and I will give them a refund. I have no complaint about Paypal at all. They do a service for me, as Ebay does also, and I don't expect them to do it for free. Do you know how much it would cost to set up a store on a street? Or online? Or all the work you have to do to get it going? I certainly do. They make it easy for me.

I get sales daily, and granted, most of my items sell for small amounts, but they add up. I sell mostly things I have, garage sale items or thrift shop stuff. I would never go the dropship route, because my feedback is important to me. I don't like to buy from sellers that use dropshippers, as they are the ones I have had the most trouble with. And that's because they have no control over their inventory or when it gets out.

[CraftyDiva]

Originally Posted by katlupe

I would never go the dropship route, because my feedback is important to me. I don't like to buy from sellers that use dropshippers, as they are the ones I have had the most trouble with. And that's because they have no control over their inventory or when it gets out.

I inderstand your points on dropshipers. That was why I stated to find one that doesn't dropship to every Tom,Dick,and Harry. That's the problem with the sellers on eBay now, they all use the same dropshipers. When you have that many sellers using them they will run short on inventory. And yes, you'll be the one hurting because it reflects on you as a seller. There are some dropshippers that will reserve your items for you, so you know thier there when they sell. Of course if they don't sell you pay for restocking. But.......if I was dropshiping I'd rather pay a 10% restock fee then buy the stuff outrite and be stuck with $1000 worth of merchandise that has shown it isn't selling.

Again finding a company no one or few use to dropship would work. Some wholesalers dropship but don't let it be known. If your selling now and use a wholeslaer you could ask if they would or do. The key is doing your homework and research, like with any business. No one becomes an overnight millionaire except maybe the lucky lug that bought the winning lotto ticket.

I still think for out pocket expense, dropshipping is the least expensive way to go, provided you did the research.

[Pony]

I'm confused.

What is "dropshipping", please?

Thanks!

Pony!

[CraftyDiva]

Dropshipping is when you don't have the inventory in your hands. The wholesaler carries it in his inventory. You list it for sale and when it sells you then buy it from the wholesaler and they ship the item to the buyer. The difference in your cost (wholesale) and what it sold for is your profit. No out of pocket expense till item sells.

[katlupe]

That's why I think that the best way to go is to find things that are one of a kind. I have looked at tons of dropship sites and wholesale sites. I just feel like most of their stuff is either junk or the kind of stuff you can pick up at Walmart. I'm not saying you can't make money using a dropshipper, but I like to put my package in my mailman's hands.

I am always looking for things that are hard to find. Like a old book, my dance records from the 80's were hot sellers for me, scuba equipment, all used stuff. But I made good money on most of it. Everything eventually sells. Just let it sit in my store, only three cents to list and one day it will sell.

You can also buy wholesale lots right from Ebay and then list them separately. I've done that too. This week, I am working on getting my store back up to 500 items for the fall season. But I have my website also, where I don't have to pay to list anything, but I only list new there (unless it is a cd or a antique).

So do you use a dropshipper yourself?

[titansrunfarm]

I have had some pretty good luck buying "mis-listed" german/swiss english saddles and reselling them after a good cleanup and with the corrected info. It is one of the benefits of my growing up in England and Germany, I can pick out a good "Stuebben" easily. Best sale so far is a saddle I bought for approx $100 with shipping and resold in the US for $350! Not doing much right now though, to distracted by my critters

Life is Good

[Ken Scharabok]

If you only sell via eBay bidding or fixed priced auctions then your related costs will be high - even if you have a high sell rate. Listing fees are expensive and it adds up unless you are selling big ticket items. I have over 200 items in my store and pretty well only use bidding auctions to try to drive buyers to the store. As noted, with one picture each store listing is $.03 month. Store cost is $15.00 per month separate.

My store is mostly items I make, but I have bought some lots off eBay for resale by the piece or pieces. Have done very, very well on some, just basically broke even on others.

I have some items listed under a couple of different titles to facilitate keyword searches.

Sales this year were great for me until about the first of August and then have tanked so far this month. Since I sell primarily blacksmithing tools, perhaps it is just too hot or kids are heading back to school, with the related expenses.

To me PayPal is well worth the cost. I would say about 90% of my sales are paid for within 24 hours, with over half almost immediately.

Rather than drop-shippers consider wholesalers. For example one I use in Nashville, TN has a wide variety of figurines. Say you specialize in Afro-American ones only. You would only need to have one on hand, then go purchase another when you have sold enough to justify the trip. I have a TN state sales tax exemption number, which allows me to qualify for wholesale prices and not have to put the tax on items purchased for shop use or resale. Here you might have them in a store, using one auction a week to drive buyers there via the subtitle line, such as More Afro-American Figurines in my eBay Store.

However, if you are going to make any significant money on resales you need to sell for at least three times your cost. If you just use a 100% markup, after expenses you will net out around 50%.

Agree on market saturation. For example I was one of the first on eBay to sell the China-import 25' retractable dog leashes. Sold a bunch at a good markup. However, now there are dozens of sellers all trying to underprice each other. Price has now been driven down to where this item is no longer worth my while. One thing I did on these is to put some in my store using the spelling of leases - and some sold since when someone did a search on dog leases mine was one of the few listings to show up.

I suspect most of those who quit their job to sell on eBay are likely now back in the job market.

[willow_girl]

I sell books on Half.com. I don't make a fortune, but enough to make it worthwhile, and I like books anyway.

Why I prefer Half.com to eBay as a seller: 1) flat 15 percent fee/commission, 2) item remains listed until sold at no additional charge, 3) Half collects payments and direct deposits your money, less commission, twice a month, and 4) Half generates your entire listing, including a recommended sale price, when you enter the ISBN. Listing an item takes seconds, vs. 10-30 minutes on eBay.

Gotta love it!

[sisterpine]

willow girl: thanks for the info, had never checked out half.com but have a zillion good books that need to be thinned down! so i am off to check it out now! thanks again.

[jeannie242]

[QUOTE=willow_girl]I sell books on Half.com. I don't make a fortune, but enough to make it worthwhile, and I like books anyway.

Isn't half.com also owned by ebay? Do they share feedback? Thanks Jeannie

[Ken Scharabok]

The problem I have had with half.com is they won't let you list a book without an ISBN on their list. There is suspose to be a process to get one not on their list listed, but I have tried six times on one without any response.

[Janon]

Selling on Ebay is like selling anywhere else - you make your money when you buy the item which you're reselling. Basically, you have to have an accurate idea of what something will sell for - meaning you must know the product. You may know saddles, you may know cameras - whatever you know, try to stick with that.

This "dropshipping from wholesalers" method may work if you want to do Ebay full time - meaning you'll need a business license, charge taxs, sell large quantities because of the low profits per item, etc.

I only do Ebay occasionally - so I usually look for higher priced items which I can markup substantially, that or buy items in lots and then sell the pieces individually.

Over the last 4 years or so, I'd say I've made between $1500 and $3000 per year.

cheers,

[Gary in ohio]

I sell off and on. During the summer I hit auctions and bid on things that I might sell on ebay. I also by and sell radio gear. Its mainly a way to pay for my toys, but I dont make much but I never put much effort into it.

[Ken Scharabok]

My observation on drop shipping (and some other sellers) is they make their profit in the handling charges, not on the item itself. For example, I mentioned 25' dog leashes above. Do a search on 25' dog leash. Most listings are for $.01. On those, take a look the S&H changes, which are 2-3 times actual.