Thing You Never Thought You Could Sell On Ebay (Take 2)

hooby_groovy

I recently saw some metal wargames figures listed on Ebay, noticed they weren't described or photographed particularly well and bought them for £7.40 including postage.

I immediately re-listed them in 3 lots, used stock photographs 'borrowed' from a website with a really good description and put them on a 7 day auction. The goods arrived and the following week all three auctions ended at a total of £34.00 plus p&p.

Profit after listing fees was in excess of £25 for literally 20 minutes of work, I got really good feedback on my account and it was a doddle

It just shows that a bit of thought in your listings can make a huge difference.

My top tips for Ebay selling:

• Take time with your photograph
• Work the description, check your spelling and grammar, use bold text and colour appropriately (But! - don't use too much colour and bold text!)
• Individual items often get more interest than 'lots' - so don't be scared to split your listing
• A little bit more time and effort in listing can improve the amount you receive

I always use this formula to sell my Sony PSP console games (I have a policy of only ever owning 2 games at any one time), I give a full description of the game, its condition and also a review of my feelings about the game with a score. I regularly match what I pay for the game. I have been known to get more for a used game on Ebay than I actually paid in the shop brand new :j

Storm

HB - couldn't agree more, taking that bit of extra time over your listing can make all the difference - I often put a bit of 'history' with stuff too so explaining why I'm selling it in terms of clothes & shoes (normally bought on a whim & don't fit!), unwanted gift etc.

I've also found that giving people options with postage & keeping the postage fees down helps - I know that I hate paying £5 for postage that really only cost £2, especially for a £1 item!

Paying the extra 15p for a gallery picture is worth it on some items, especially when a basic search will return lots of listings - I know that I wouldn't be bothered to click through all of them, so why should I expect my buyer to?

Also, don't list something with a 99p starting price unless you're happy for it to go for that price (found that one out the hard way!)

eyelinerprincess

I sold an air guitar for 28p plus 50p P&P

A broken ipod, I mean, this thing doesn't even switch on, for £21 plus a fiver postage

A skirt I bought for £1 that didn't fit me sold for £10

A Biffy Clyro autographed flyer that was sitting around doing nothing for £15

Curious_George_2

MrsBartolozzi wrote: »

Hi,
They might, y'know... but it depends how you market them...;)
There was a thread on the ebay forum - do a search for well worn shoes,
someone sold a pair of old knackered slippers, and other old shoes sell to what shall we call 'em.... collectors?

all i will say is be careful!
firstly ebay remove an awful lot of those auctions and you will lose your listing fees etc,
but also... we were looking at all these foot fetish auctions one day thinking "ohh i could sell my stinky old slippers for a fortune to these pervs"
when we stumbled across something a bit more sinister, some of the used footwear auctions are actually a front for what can only be called prostitution, (and i am serious!)
you ever wonder why that manky pair of trainers sold for over £50? and why the feedback is always from the same people saying things like "she always delivers, excellent product *wink wink*"

its all a bit dodgy! so i would stay well clear if i were you!
just incase the buyer wants to collect :eek:

PixiePie

Curious_George wrote: »

all i will say is be careful!
firstly ebay remove an awful lot of those auctions and you will lose your listing fees etc,
but also... we were looking at all these foot fetish auctions one day thinking "ohh i could sell my stinky old slippers for a fortune to these pervs"
when we stumbled across something a bit more sinister, some of the used footwear auctions are actually a front for what can only be called prostitution, (and i am serious!)
you ever wonder why that manky pair of trainers sold for over £50? and why the feedback is always from the same people saying things like "she always delivers, excellent product *wink wink*"

its all a bit dodgy! so i would stay well clear if i were you!
just incase the buyer wants to collect :eek:

The reason it sold for over £50 is beacuse that's what people that are into it are willing to pay!! Look at sites such as Libidex, Breathless, Pretty Pervy, Vex clothing, Simon O and see the prices - people pay for fetish, because they have to (as the rest of society think we are 'perverts' and therefore aren't mainstream and therefore can't have the economies of scale such as Tesco etc).

A lot of people selling used footwear are doing it on a regular basis, so the 'always delivers' bit refers to a) a repeat purchase perhaps and b) delivers a good quality item in their eyes. A lot of people that are into smelly feet fetish etc, are, by 'normal' standards, a little strange in lots of ways, almost in an autistic way (and this isn't being mean to autistic people, my brother is autistic and I am borderline apparently) so have different ways of interacting and giving feedback.

If people are selling prostitution, believe me, they don't need to pay silly listing fees on Ebay, there are many many other ways to do it a hell of a lot cheaper with still the 'safety catches' you might think that going through Ebay offers (and no worries of Paypal charge backs).

Sorry if that comes across as a bit ranty, but I am sick to the back teeth of 'perverts' being seen as that - if someone wants to sniff shoes to get turned on or have a good time, who are they hurting? Why do we as society feel the need to have a go at them? And no, it's not a step away from Paedophilia - that is a totally and utterly different thing (I know a lot about fetish seeing as I've been into the scene for 10 years now ). Sorry, rant over

rayday2

If someone sniffed my husbands shoes then they would hurt themselves!!!

I got a listing banned off ebay on the grounds of "it caused arousal" I complained to them saying they should ban all the Bon Jovi items because they cause me arousal!

angelavdavis

eyelinerprincess wrote: »

A broken ipod, I mean, this thing doesn't even switch on, for £21 plus a fiver postage

There are definitely people on eBay who are repairing items such as this and buy these for the parts.

I recently had a problem with my digital camera - got sloppy and chucked it in my handbag minus a cover and as a result, the screen got damaged. :mad:

I was really miffed as I had bought the underwater housing so I could do underwater photography, so I needed to keep the same model, else my housing would be useless.

So I bought the same model but water damaged camera on ebay and replaced the screen - bit fiddly but better than buying a new one!

Once I had fixed this one, I spotted another camera - same model but with a faulty memory card writer (apparently). I chanced my arm and bought the camera for £30, joking with my OH that it was probably a dodgy memory card!

I swear I put a memory card in it and its fine! Unbelievable that someone sold their £200 camera for £30 and there was nothing wrong with it!!!

Well, I was them contacted by someone from ebay concerned that I was repairing cameras and would be competition for him!

Cost me more though because I ended up buying another underwater housing on ebay for OH to dive with too!!!

hooby_groovy

One I missed in my post earlier and is timely is one I've tried a few times.

We've a Next Clearance store near my mums, when its the Next Sale (this weekend), we go to mums and call in there. They virtually give the stuff away.

I calculate a bit of spare cash that I can afford and go spending looking for high-value clothes for less than £3.00.

I then sell on Ebay as Next, and clearly say they are from the sale.

I have managed to get £25 for jeans that cost me £2 - and for £100 down I can easily clear £300-£400 in a week

The trick is in the listing (see my earlier post) and discipline - look for £2-£3 items, look for those that will sell. If you don't see anything you think you can sell walk away - don't buy for the sake of it!!!

rayday2

I sort of do that without going to Next I buy clothing bundles for my daughters - saves tons of money, anything not to my taste (usually higher fashion items) I list as mini bundles and usually I make my money back again and teh children walk around in free clothes then when they are out grown any in good condition get listed again.

Gemmzie

Looking at other auctions, I reckon I've got about £100 worth of stuff :eek: