Selling stuff to be debt free - a question

chevalier

Hi there
Now my debts compared to others are small, but as with all of us I want them to go down faster:D .
Unfortunately in the beginning of 2006 when my (untreated then) depression was at its worst, I decided it would be a good idea to buy a load of clothes. Some were for me to redo my wardrobe (when I got slimmer yeah like that happened:rolleyes: ) and I would sell the rest on ebay etc etc:mad: .

So fast forward 12 months and I am trying to sell what I don't want myself. The thing is that it isn't selling. It's not as if I am overpricing. These are brand new things for 99p! Lots of photos etc.

BUT I only offer paypal from balances (ie you have to have a paypal balance to pay from), that way I keep my personal account. So my question is, is it the lack of being able to pay via cards (via paypal) what is affecting my sales. I have been reluctant to upgrade until now, but we will be leaving the country in the next 6 months, so it HAS to get shifted. But I also can't bear just to give it away.

So I would appreciate the view of those people who have sold a lot on ebay. Do you take paypal and accept card payments? Is it just good luck?
Any suggestions welcome and THANKS in advance!
chev

ps I understand about the tax implications, but at the moment I am making a loss on everything. If sales actually started happening I would tell mr tax man. But I have no income at the moment and am on no benefits, so I would have a fairly large personal allowance to go through before tax would be an issue.

danielleindebt

hmmm not very good at ebay myself. what about a local car boot? im doing one soon as my friend says she makes loads.

chevalier

I suppose I am a bit nervous about doing one. I heard some horror stories about dealers crowding round your car when you are trying to set up. Plus I don't have a table to lay things on, nor rails. I am a bit of a wimp. My OH is also completely uninterested in going to one to check it out. The nearest one to us is a Sunday and I just get a big sigh, when I suggest it. He did SAY he was going to help me sort the boxes out, but that went by the board and I did it myself. I have heard there are mid week car boots, but don't know where to look for these. Any ideas?
thanks for the thought though
chev

angelavdavis

chevalier wrote: »

ps I understand about the tax implications, but at the moment I am making a loss on everything. If sales actually started happening I would tell mr tax man. But I have no income at the moment and am on no benefits, so I would have a fairly large personal allowance to go through before tax would be an issue.

Hi Chev, You should be OK ref tax if you are selling your own belongings (ie not running a business selling new items specifically bought to sell on eBay).

wyebird

There is an ebay board, which might help

Karmacat

Sorry chev, I've just posted on the 101 days thread that I can cope with selling on amazon, but not ebay, a lot of the stuff I *might* put on there is quite small in value (as opposed to yours, which sounds fairly high-end). What about what Danielleindebt has just said, of selling locally? Plus, in my area, and in a couple of other towns I know in other parts of the country, there are "quality" second hand shops - where the stock goes for £10 upwards, they accept stuff piece by piece, not whatever you want to give them, usually on sale or return round here. Especially for clothes, that might be the way to go.

danielleindebt

the sunday morning car boots are suposed to be the best. we went to an afternoon one and it was ok. i have mountains of baby clothes to sell and loadsa stuff that i have accumulated. dvd playstation games etc.
my oh isnt really interested either (i think he is more worried that i will sell his p/station games at the wrong price lol)

there are some carboots on a sat afternoon or a sunday afternoon.

southern_chick

hi chev

do you live anywhere near an Army camp, they used to have Thrift shops (although this is going back a few years!!) where you could take in anything that you wanted to sell, they would sell it for you and keep a small percentage of the profit for their running costs/local charity and you got the rest like i said it is going back a few years now since i used one but it might be worth looking in to HTH

SC XX

twinkle162

Car boot sales and trying to sell clothes do not really go hand in hand imho. If your stuff is branded, then it should sell on Ebay.

chevalier

Hi thanks for the tips about army camp. There is one close ish to us. Will have a look.
Unfortunately most of it isn't branded, though some of it is ex catalogue. The non branded stuff is made in Britain, so maybe that could be a selling point?

I think I will have to check out a car boot on my own and see if I can get up the courage to go to one.
thanks for the advice keep it coming!:D

I had thought of putting it on the ebay board, but I wanted dfwer's opinions because you are selling to pay off debt!
chev

moonlightpjs

Hi Chev
I have done quite a few car boots and have made a lot of money from them, though its right about dealers crowding around your tables - they are looking for stuff you might think isn't worth anything but they are dealers so know what to look for. I've always found selling clothes at a carboat awful, most people want something for nothing etc. We were once selling some summer clothes bought for our baby which she didn't fit into for the right size/age IYKWIM and these clothes were brand new, still had labels etc on and were from M&S, Mamas and Papas, Next etc and people moaned about even paying a £1 for a £20 dress for example. I've since given more away as I would rather give them to somebody who needs them than take £1.

I even once sold a Mamas and Papas pushchair that my son had grown out of, it was in excellent condition and cost about £200, a lady asked me if I would take £5 for it, I said no I wanted £15, she argued and argued and I stood my ground and then appeared this girl who said "You only want £15 for it - I'll have it" and you should have seen the look on the other womans face :rotfl: I saw the girl again that morning pushing her son around in it.

I have found that household things, curtains, crockery, cushions, bedding, etc etc go really well if that helps at all. The carboots we have done we have had to get up at 4am to start queing to get in and the pitch cost seems to rise everytime we do one.

Just a word of caution though if you are thinking about doing one yourself, I found it really scary setting up on my own with the dealers coming round and I swear some things went missing as I was unloading the boxes as I was crowded in and couldn't take control if that makes sense. Maybe the ones you are thinking of going to will not be as busy but the dealers are normally there first thing on the lookout and the one we go to is packed - more dealers selling than us ordinary folk.

Have you tried putting things together as a lot on Ebay, eg 4 t shirts as a job lot in one auction as some people might not want to pay postage for just one item.

Hope I've helped in some way and good luck xxx