Used items, what sells best on Ebay

Brooker_Dave

KRDmum wrote: »

I was thinking of possibility of going down the route of getting some bargains at carboot sales, and selling them on

That worked in 2006, as did buying junk from pound shops and flogging it on ebay, but these days ebay is a pale shadow of its former self and the only people making any money are the Chinese sellers.

Take your toys/junk to the charity shop or do a car boot sale.

Forget about being the next ebay millionaire and get a proper job.

KRDmum

soolin wrote: »

Can I suggest a bit of leg work- it can really pay off. If you have an idle moment just set ebay to 'completed items' and search randomly for items, get a feel for what normally sells and what doesn't . Clothes are something I avoid like the plague , so if you do find brands you can source but which sell well and start aup a micro business then remember to factor in buyer returns when working out your costs and profit. Also ensure you avoid brands that are on VERO.

Thanks for that Soolin! Didn't think of doing it that way, just been searching Google to get some idea really. Good point about returns too, as a private seller I have never had to think about that before. Thanks again

KRDmum

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

That worked in 2006, as did buying junk from pound shops and flogging it on ebay, but these days ebay is a pale shadow of its former self and the only people making any money are the Chinese sellers.

You sound very bitter there, if you don't mind me saying so, I am not talking about buying junk but seeing if I can pick up a good bargain now and again. I am not looking to make a living out of it, but just to have some pocket cash.

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

Forget about being the next ebay millionaire and get a proper job.

That's a bit harsh, don't you think? If you must know, I have given £32k a year job to look after my children, as I refused point blank to shell out nearly £20k on a childcare, not see my children and bring home measly pennies after Mr. Tax man had his share

shopaholicz

Hi KRDmum,

I've done the same as you are quite a few times now. I'd have a big clear out and post on ebay. Every time I've made well over £500.

But to buy and sell for a profit is different. I did it once with mobile phones, buying on ebay and advertising in our local paper, but now the websites are giving good money for used phones and new ones are dirt cheap.

Why not have an ebay shop that can sell anything and not specialize, that way you can have a go at selling anything and you can slowly make your decision what works best.

I've also helped family members and friends to clear out their old stuff, listing for them on ebay and splitting profit 50/50.

Other things that seem to sell well for me have been jigsaws, magazines, bath stuff, cat stuff, home made cushion covers.

Do you have any hobbies that could make you a profit?

soolin

KRDmum wrote: »

You sound very bitter there, if you don't mind me saying so, I am not talking about buying junk but seeing if I can pick up a good bargain now and again. I am not looking to make a living out of it, but just to have some pocket cash.



That's a bit harsh, don't you think? If you must know, I have given £32k a year job to look after my children, as I refused point blank to shell out nearly £20k on a childcare, not see my children and bring home measly pennies after Mr. Tax man had his share

Mr Brooker has a well documented past of being unable to sell on eBay, mainly because he has been banned several times. I wouldn't necessarily take advice from someone purely because they can't do something themselves.

However, he does have a point that it is no longer as easy as it used to be in the second hand market area of things. When you sell your own things there is no profit, so you just see the money coming in. Once you factor in the time it takes to source items, getting up to do car boots etc, handling returns , having unsold stock etc it can become a chore, or an expensive hobby.

I know several people who make a little money selling car boot finds as a sideline and there is a regular on here that actually makes a proper living but in a niche clothes market.

I sell in vintage and collectable categories myself ,second hand stuff but it is getting tough especially with postal prices. My real money comes from brand new items that I have sourced and frankly are much easier to pack and send and with very few issues or returns. Today for instance I have 22 items to send only 3 of them are second hand in the vintage or collectable categories and at least one of those has been listed for over 3 months with no previous sale.

Brooker_Dave

KRDmum wrote: »

You sound very bitter there, if you don't mind me saying so, I am not talking about buying junk but seeing if I can pick up a good bargain now and again. I am not looking to make a living out of it, but just to have some pocket cash.

The problem is that your plan is the same everyone's get rich of ebay plan.

Unless you can find something really unique (and in demand) selling on ebay is simply not going to be worth the hassle.

KRDmum

shopaholicz wrote: »

Hi KRDmum,

I've done the same as you are quite a few times now. I'd have a big clear out and post on ebay. Every time I've made well over £500.

But to buy and sell for a profit is different. I did it once with mobile phones, buying on ebay and advertising in our local paper, but now the websites are giving good money for used phones and new ones are dirt cheap.

Why not have an ebay shop that can sell anything and not specialize, that way you can have a go at selling anything and you can slowly make your decision what works best.

I've also helped family members and friends to clear out their old stuff, listing for them on ebay and splitting profit 50/50.

Other things that seem to sell well for me have been jigsaws, magazines, bath stuff, cat stuff, home made cushion covers.

Do you have any hobbies that could make you a profit?

Thanks for your advice Shopaholicz, I just can't think of any niche that would suit me, so having an unspecialised shop might be a way around it. Not got a big family but so far my mum has given me some stuff to sell too for her too, although I would never take commission from her.
Craft it's something that I am very new to, I was just never into it before, but I've got a couple of ideas now, just need a bit of practice x

KRDmum

soolin wrote: »

Mr Brooker has a well documented past of being unable to sell on eBay, mainly because he has been banned several times. I wouldn't necessarily take advice from someone purely because they can't do something themselves.

However, he does have a point that it is no longer as easy as it used to be in the second hand market area of things. When you sell your own things there is no profit, so you just see the money coming in. Once you factor in the time it takes to source items, getting up to do car boots etc, handling returns , having unsold stock etc it can become a chore, or an expensive hobby.

I know several people who make a little money selling car boot finds as a sideline and there is a regular on here that actually makes a proper living but in a niche clothes market.

I sell in vintage and collectable categories myself ,second hand stuff but it is getting tough especially with postal prices. My real money comes from brand new items that I have sourced and frankly are much easier to pack and send and with very few issues or returns. Today for instance I have 22 items to send only 3 of them are second hand in the vintage or collectable categories and at least one of those has been listed for over 3 months with no previous sale.

Thanks again Soolin, a lot of food for thought there. I usually go to carboot sale to get some toys and clothes for the kids then sell them on locally once kids are done with them. I once picked up a brand new toilet seat still in a packaging for £3, as our was needing replaced, only to find that it didn't fit. I've put it on eBay and sold it for £40! Didn't realise the seat was retailing at £140. But I suppose that was pure luck.

asajj

Also an inexpensive alternative is local Facebook groups. In my area I haven't had a lot of luck but I know some people are doing well over FB.

I have sell my used clothes on Ebay from time to time however I don't bother to spend time selling things like Next or H&M unless they are really trendy or unique.

I also put things on Vinted but it is slow moving however you can put clothes on without a fee and as long as you want (until it is sold).

Gleeful

KRDmum wrote: »

Thank you Gleeful, would you mind elaborating a little bit on the type of clothing, I.e. Trousers, tops or outerwear?

It was All Saints items - dresses, tops, jumpers etc. However the popularity of that brand did a nosedive and it was no longer as lucrative. There is one lady still doing it, she started after me and has around 200 items up