Are ebay and the like worth it?

thegirlintheattic

I need a new car and so need to make some money. I've streamlined my outgoings - so I'll hopefully be able to save some of my wages. At that rate though it will be 8 months before I save up enough. So I'm looking to make some more money.

I already do survey sites and the like and am saving up the Amazon vouchers for X-mas presents but need some cash.

I've got lots of books, some wii games, some used clothes and some DVDs and am wondering if e-bay, Amazon and the like are worth a try.

Do they work? Which is best? Are the listing fees worth it?

Amatheya81

I've been trying to overpay my loan by selling stuff on ebay for the past month. I've sold about 40 items listed with a start price of 99p and made about £160 profit so if you ask me it was definately worth it.
Things sell better if you use a low starting price and hope for the best so you can't be to preciouse about how much you want stuff to sell for.

lincroft1710

eBay is worth trying. It's always hit or miss what sells and for how much, and sales do seem to be down at present. Always check completed listings for items similar to those you want to sell.

shmeeko69

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I need a new car and so need to make some money. I've streamlined my outgoings - so I'll hopefully be able to save some of my wages. At that rate though it will be 8 months before I save up enough. So I'm looking to make some more money.

I already do survey sites and the like and am saving up the Amazon vouchers for X-mas presents but need some cash.

I've got lots of books, some wii games, some used clothes and some DVDs and am wondering if e-bay, Amazon and the like are worth a try.

Do they work? Which is best? Are the listing fees worth it?

Amazon will normally fetch a higher price than ebay due to the latter being an auction site. The fees you pay for advertising are hit and miss and it's only through effective adverts and demand that, will determine how well your items will sell. If you want more money for a new car then, cutting down your spend like you've mentioned is the first way and the other way is to bring in more money through Amazon, Ebay.............Reduce your outgoings and increase your incomings is the key to getting what you want including a new car.

Best of Luck

Mark

magic57

Some non-fiction books seem to sell well on Amazon. You can check the prices and see what you might get. It's not as quick as ebay though as you might not get a buyer straight away. Good luck.

thegirlintheattic

Thanks. I have quite a collection of textbooks but they are quite specialised so didn't have much luck a year ago selling them. Shame I don't live near a uni otherwise I would sell them on campus.

Will try Amazon again and then ebay when there is a free listing.

flexrider

Going to sound weird but being a x powerseller back in 2006 on ebay and used to sell on amazon also what i used to do is go alot of Carboot sales and charity shops and sell the books i used to find for 50p or so for 3.00 on amazon and finding best items i used to use Google trends to find what people online are searching for (example britney spears CD's ect) then do some research and sell simalar goods via ebay,

Hope that helps

InsideInsurance

Amatheya81 wrote: »

I've sold about 40 items listed with a start price of 99p and made about £160 profit

Profit or revenue?


You will certainly be able to sell items on eBay for more than the cost of listing and postage. Now if it is worth selling items you paid £100 for got some use out of and can now sell on for £30 is up to you to decide.

If you are thinking of doing it as a business rather than just to get rid of some possessions, ie you'll buy thing explicitly to sell on ebay, they again you can make a profit but you need to do your research on average sale prices, demand and your own sourcing abilities.

soolin

flexrider wrote: »

Going to sound weird but being a x powerseller back in 2006 on ebay and used to sell on amazon also what i used to do is go alot of Carboot sales and charity shops and sell the books i used to find for 50p or so for 3.00 on amazon and finding best items i used to use Google trends to find what people online are searching for (example britney spears CD's ect) then do some research and sell simalar goods via ebay,

Hope that helps

Unfortunately in the past year the book market has completely collapsed. I was a pro seller on Amazon for years and overnight my sales just stopped and I gave up my pro membership, culled my stock and now keep only about 700 books and sell around 8 a month.

When I gave up I was inundated with other sellers all trying to offload their stock onto me as they were giving up as well.

I have never seen a market go so quickly

shmeeko69

soolin wrote: »

Unfortunately in the past year the book market has completely collapsed. I was a pro seller on Amazon for years and overnight my sales just stopped and I gave up my pro membership, culled my stock and now keep only about 700 books and sell around 8 a month.

When I gave up I was inundated with other sellers all trying to offload their stock onto me as they were giving up as well.

I have never seen a market go so quickly

It is unfortunate and we know why this has happened - the Kindle E-book reader and the like and according to latest statistics digitally downloaded books are outselling physical books by a ratio of 5 to 1 which is sad really and shows you how effective marketing and brainwashing is.

Mark

kiss_me_now9

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

Thanks. I have quite a collection of textbooks but they are quite specialised so didn't have much luck a year ago selling them. Shame I don't live near a uni otherwise I would sell them on campus.

Will try Amazon again and then ebay when there is a free listing.

Now would be the time to sell them - as the freshers start to get their reading lists!

Even if you're not near a uni you could list them and advertise it on student sites.