anyone use ebay as a second income?

lovingthem · **anyone use ebay as a second income?**

hi ladies,

does anyone have any tips to share if they sell on ebay? i am seriously considering (actually i'm starting) to use ebay as a second business. i live in an area where i can get some pretty great items for super cheap, especially clothing and furniture, to sell. name brand, sturdy, stylish things for literally pennies of what they would be worth new. my entire wardrobe is basically name brand and i don't spend more than 3.00 for a peice of clothing.

the names that i buy: j. crew, banana republic, gap, guess, gloria vanderbilt, dkny, liz claiborne, old navy, baby phat, pepe, etc. i am a bigger woman, and some styles don't come in my size (16), but i see tons of these names when i'm shopping at the thrift stores, and there are plenty of women and men who will fit them nicely i'm sure. i've even spotted a versace, gucci, fendi, coach, etc. piece a time or two.

so i am seriously going this route, as we need about an extra 100-200.00 per week here. i was wondering, does anyone else sell DAILY on ebay? i have been an ebayer for years, so i am pretty much well equipped with the ins and outs, but looking for any helpful tips or advice never hurts.

thanks, hopefully we can start a good conversation here.

momof4kiddos · 08-05-2007, 11:49 PM

I always come across great labels at the thrift stores. But of course they're in smaller sizes, i even thought about buying them, taking them to the 1.67 dry cleaners & then taking them to a resell shop. I'm also interested in hearing everyones opinions/replies.

lovingthem · 08-05-2007, 11:55 PM

i think i posted this up in the wrong section--i just discovered an entire section dedicated to ebay. but perhaps this will be ok here too, considering it is a suggestion about money matters.

i am sure i can make a great income on the ebay thing, buying and selling. and since i work only part time now, the opportunity is presenting itself. i have been praying for venue for quite a while now, and well, things are sort of falling into place and i am feeling pretty good about this move.

all it takes is buying the items, cleaning them up nicely, and getting a good clear camera to take pictures. ebay has fees, but they are reasonable, and the profit can become pretty decent for a side business/income.

Missystuy · 08-06-2007, 08:11 AM

For a time, I tried ebay as a second income. It just didn't work for ME. I DO know people on other boards that make this work and do make a great salary and are powersellers. Not only do they sell thier own great things they find at CSs and other places, but they also sell stuff for others. The ONLY person that wanted me to sell stuff for them was this little old lady that wanted me to sell her salt and pepper collection. It did nothing for me, I ended up losing $$ in that deal.

I still do ebay on occassion, but I do find it very time consuming and a lot of work. I sell my kids outgrown clothes and might rebuy their current sizes, but even that I havn't done in quite some time, I guess I'm just too burnt out on other stuff to worry about it. Dh has a ton of stuff he wants me to sell for him, and I just havn't gotten around to it.

Spoodler · 08-06-2007, 08:52 AM

Clothing is a flooded market on Ebay and it can be very hard to make a profit in that area. Even with name brands. You might have some luck though with larger sizes though...

I did a search on Ebay for womens 16 and there is a market for that size. I would stick with the larger sized clothing, but do lots of research to see what is selling and when. Be sure to do an advanced search to check auctions that have already ended so you can see what things sold for in the end. Also read the Ebay discussion boards (Go to site map on Ebay and they are listed on the right) to get ideas on how to list, ship, etc.

Furniture is heavy, cumbersome, and a PITA to ship so I would steer away from that unless you would be doing pick up only auctions.

lovingthem · 08-06-2007, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spoodler

Clothing is a flooded market on Ebay and it can be very hard to make a profit in that area. Even with name brands. You might have some luck though with larger sizes though...

I did a search on Ebay for womens 16 and there is a market for that size. I would stick with the larger sized clothing, but do lots of research to see what is selling and when. Be sure to do an advanced search to check auctions that have already ended so you can see what things sold for in the end. Also read the Ebay discussion boards (Go to site map on Ebay and they are listed on the right) to get ideas on how to list, ship, etc.

Furniture is heavy, cumbersome, and a PITA to ship so I would steer away from that unless you would be doing pick up only auctions.

thanks so much for the input. i am looking for any and all advice. i was thinking about the larger sizes as well..since i went on ebay and saw that all of the larger sized items had bids, while the smaller sizes had none! so you're right on that aspect. perhaps i will stick to one facet of the ebaying situation, such as larger sizes. i also notice

i will do furniture every now and then, and only if it's a real deal. i know that furniture are great buys on ebay because i have NEVER won a furniture bid, and i'm always on top of my bids. so people are very competitive for furniture and vehicles and don't mind coming to pick the items up.

i am pretty good with listing auctions, etc...as there are only 2 items that i have ever sold on ebay and got no bidders.

thanks for the ideas, i am going to start my researching now...haha. that's funny, considering i should have done this then. but better late than never. i am hoping to start listing by the end of this week, at least a handful of items to see where they take me. and if i don't sell them, no sweat because i can use them. my only hope is that i don't start to like my own items and keep them lol.

lovingthem · 08-06-2007, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Missystuy

For a time, I tried ebay as a second income. It just didn't work for ME. I DO know people on other boards that make this work and do make a great salary and are powersellers. Not only do they sell thier own great things they find at CSs and other places, but they also sell stuff for others. The ONLY person that wanted me to sell stuff for them was this little old lady that wanted me to sell her salt and pepper collection. It did nothing for me, I ended up losing $$ in that deal.

I still do ebay on occassion, but I do find it very time consuming and a lot of work. I sell my kids outgrown clothes and might rebuy their current sizes, but even that I havn't done in quite some time, I guess I'm just too burnt out on other stuff to worry about it. Dh has a ton of stuff he wants me to sell for him, and I just havn't gotten around to it.

thanks for the imput. i don't know too many people personally that do ebay, but i have heard stories from plenty that the thrift stores around this area (nyc metro) are GREAT for ebaying because there are some great quality items that you can find for basically nothing and then sell them for a good profit.

right now i am trying to begin to get to a point in my life where i don't have to DEPEND on my job. i want the freedom to be able to say, "yanno what, i don't need you" whenever i want to, because i don't like to have things held over my head, so to speak.

there are so many things that i could be successful at if i only apply myself. but like you, the time seems to just elude me. but i am straightening out my schedule now to allow for more things. it's not easy, but it's worth it.

girlscoutmom · 08-06-2007, 04:00 PM

clothing is indeeed a flooded market on ebay. What you need to do is find a specialized area. something that is in demand, but there isn't a whole lot of it out there. The 2 things I've found are girl scout items, and swim team items. Girl scout items you can find old unifrorms, books, patches, ect at thrift stores and garage sales. It's really hit or miss and I'd sure make a TON of money if I could find a good CONSTANT place to find that stuff cheap. The stuff I do find to resell always sells for 10x the price I pay for it. You can also try boy scout items, dance costumes., Figure skates and Figure skating outfits go well and I always find all sorts of performance costumes mixed inthe racks at halloween time at thrift stores.

For swim, I try to find competative swim suits in brand names either new or gently used. I get gently used ones at thrift stores and new ones at places like tjmaxx and then re-sell them The profit isn't always the best. Maybe 50%.

Like I said, I really don't have a SOURCE - a place to consistantly get my goods at low prices. Now say I had a rich sister that was always passing down gymboree or boutiqe clothing to me for free, that might work out ok.

I guess my advice is to find a source of product- dumspter diving, thrift stores, ect that you can get a product to sell. Anything you can glean for free, or very cheap is best. Good luck.

lovingthem · 08-06-2007, 04:13 PM

the clothing items i do get are usually in excellent condition, and basically very cheap. i live in a great area for fashion/design, so needless to say, there is alot of namebrand stuff floating around. the thrift stores here are stacked with liz claiborne, guess, ann taylor, nordstroms, dkny, etc. etc. i will also sell in large lots to encourage bids, as i would probably pay about 15.00 for a 6 piece lot of women's clothing from say liz claiborne.

i am expecting a stock of expensive children's clothing soon. nothing of which fits my girls. so i am hoping to list that. and it's free, so any profit i make off it will be great.

i have a pretty much running stock of clothing. never really searched for anything item specific, such as costumes and the like, but i am going out wednesday to do some serious searching.

the items i come across are very stylish and i could bascially start all bids at 99 cents to encourage bids. and for these first weeks, what i don't sell--i can use.

thanks for the advice!

crystal ann · 08-06-2007, 04:43 PM

I love ebay and I am learning it. I've sold 2 items so far. My mil wants me to sell her stuff and split the profit. She's all into antiques and has great stuff! I do have to learn to post the picture myself though. Husband knows how but, puts it off too much!I think it's a fun hobby and you can earn extra allowance! I'd suggest any one try it! and as the ladies said
larger sizes would be great to sell. Cause I had a med and small that didn't .But the XL did!
Good luck and many blessings!