My success

**curlywurly**

Thought I'd just share a success story with you. Having a major clear out, loads of stuff just stacked up, then decided to do a big Ebay sale - have made £526 in one month (minus fees). And apart from one item, it really is all junk, including tiles taken up from my kitchen floor, the old kitchen itself, an old window... books, clothes, dvds, etc.

It took some time to list it all, and I hate standing in queues in post offices, but this is an excellent start to my holiday fund for next year.

So anyone who is dithering about it, I say find some energy and go and do it. I would also advise if possible to put the money in a separate fund so you can see it growing, and then when you are labouring under a pile of bubble wrap and a few non-paying bidders you can think "it's all worth it in the end because I can do xyz with the money".

Now I need a taste of my own advice, to leave this forum alone (addictive as it is) and go and DO SOME MORE LISTING !!!:)

Crowqueen

Well done. I did similar a couple of years ago, but I spent it all on pizza deliveries instead of saving up for the holiday I wanted. I ended up getting the money from my grandmother as a birthday present, but I definitely agree about setting it aside on a regular basis to see it all accumulate. Incidentally, I've found that childrens' DVDs you pay a pittance for on Amazon go really well: Basil Brush went for £10 to a buyer in Australia, three times what it cost including postage on the Big River. I think it's classic series that aren't shown any more that do best.

Just out of interest - did you find you got multiple bids on things? I'm considering selling some of my excess stuff, but have been buying some really good bulk lots of manga, role-playing-game magazines and so on recently for opening bid, and seeing as that's what I've got to sell, I'm not really prepared to go to all that trouble to just watch it sit there. I think it's the recession, and when things pick up I'm sure non-essential items will sell better, but in your opinion, what went best?

**curlywurly**

I think you have to weigh up how desperate you are to get rid of something, as against how much you are willing to accept per item.

I do a small amount of research. I am selling a DVD, for example. So I looked at items which have finished. If that same item has not sold, or hasn't sold for very much, then I take it to the charity shop or bootsale and move onto the next thing to sell.

I think to myself that if I have an item that only one person is likely to bid on (something specialist perhaps) then my opening price is going to be the absolute minimum I am willing to sell for. If you start things at 1p or 99p in the hope of whipping up a frenzy of bidders you may be disappointed. It does sometimes happen, but equally it doesn't always.

I also think to myself that i have a boxful of stuff to sell. How much would I get at a bootsale for it all? and on that basis I am not disapointed when a brand new DVD sells for 99p but a boxful of McDonald's toys sells for £20, because if I even that out, I would never have got £20.99 at a bootsale for both items. Hope that makes sense.

MadelinesMum

Well done Curlywurly. We've recently moved house and although I got rid of lots of stuff when we moved I've still got loads of junk I don't need. I've even gone through the bathroom cabinet and got prices you wouldn't believe for used lotions and potions. x

hermum

Well done you, thanks for the inspiration.

sarahg1969

We've just done the same. Currently have almost £800 saved from the last month, towards our holiday spends. I've not taken the ebay fees or postage costs out of that; I just paid it all into the savings account. And our holiday came courtesy of Tesco CC vouchers, at a cost of just £43 to us!

We've also been car booting, which I've used for weekly expenses - music lessons and dinner money, etc.

My loft is now much emptier, but I still have a pile of stuff to ebay, and a garage full of car boot stuff to keep us going over the summer.

It was hard work, getting myself started, but once you're into the swing of it, it can become quite addictive!

lynnemcf

well done ... I did a lot of car booting before I moved house and kept the money I made in a separate account and it was fabby to see it grow ... my treat was to pay for a professional decorator in my new home ...

wik

Well done... thats a good amount to be selling off..

I have been selling crafty bits and bobs for the last year - I have not been able to do as many crafty things as I was doing and had collected a huge amount of things over the last 10 years ( in fact I am shocked by the amount I have made.. And even more shocked to think what I have spent over the years!!)

I have found the best way to get ready for selling things on ebay is that I get things stacked up - if its fabric I iron it, measure it, then photograph it all, Then get the pics onto my laptop and then I can get it listed on the days I want.

I have some Dvd's to try and sell, Loads of kids ones that my 3 have ourgrown. I also have my sons old psp to be selling - but after reading so many horror storys on here about problems with sales of electrical items I am a bit wary :S

Tallullah

I agree about flogging stuff on ebay - incouding stuff you'd never think would sell. At the same time, I would caution against keeping hold of things which haven't sold (especially clothes). In my experience, if it hasn't sold once, its unlikely to sell the next time and all you do is accumulate a whole load of clutter you would have been better passing on to charity!

(can you tell I am clearing out my own clutter at the moment...?!!)

fridayschild_2

Tallullah wrote: »

I agree about flogging stuff on ebay - incouding stuff you'd never think would sell. At the same time, I would caution against keeping hold of things which haven't sold (especially clothes). In my experience, if it hasn't sold once, its unlikely to sell the next time and all you do is accumulate a whole load of clutter you would have been better passing on to charity!

(can you tell I am clearing out my own clutter at the moment...?!!)

True to a point, Tallullah, but sometimes people miss the first sale of an item and they want a second go, or it might be the 'wrong time of the year' .

I had recently listed a dress twice and had decided to give it to charity when I received an email from someone asking if I still had it because she wanted it, I relisted it for her with a b.i.n. and she paid for it straight away. Unusual, I admit, but it does happen.

Looking at completed sales is definitely the way to go, especially if a particularly bulky or fragile item usually only sells for 99p its just not worth the hassle.

I'm not a major seller, just clearing my toot sorry treasures but I have about 2 grand in my account - it was 3 but I seem to have become addicted to 'winning things'

I'm saving up for a dog, which is one more reason for getting more space in the house.

Tallullah

fridayschild wrote: »

but sometimes people miss the first sale of an item and they want a second go, or it might be the 'wrong time of the year' .

Indeed - but in my experience you're unlikely to sell the thing next time round for very much and meanwhile it and all its friends are clogging up your house! I really fell in love with ebay when I first started to use it and you can really get carried away and hang on to absolutely everything because you think, oh, I might sell that some day on ebay! It's just a warning not to allow stuff to really build up in the spare room before moving it on to the local charity shop or freecycle. Or in my case, the skip I ordered which has just arrived!