Making Money with Ebay

Making money with Ebay is entirely possible, but one has to be realistic. As with any other business, to be successful requires real work. "Getting Rich Quick" is a fantasy. You can, however, get rich slowly, and have a lot of fun along the way. There are many sellers who join Ebay, and think that all they have to do is post a few items for sale and boom...they make money. It just doesn't work that way for most.

First, you have to have a product or products to sell. This means you need a source. Some people buy products wholesale and re-sell at a profit. Some people sell things from around their house that they no longer want. Some people go to yard sales, auctions, and estate sales and find things to re-sell. Some people watch for 75% off sales at their local retail stores and buy things to re-sell. Some people sell things that they make. (I make lighthouses and costumes.) I also do all of the other things listed above. Knowing what will sell or be "in demand" requires research. I call all of this "footwork." There is lots of footwork involved here.

Then, things have to be cleaned up and made ready for sale. This is especially true in the clothing department. People will buy gently used clothing, but it needs to be nice and clean and free of stains and odors. Name-brand and unique clothing items are the easiest to sell. I use a lot of laundry products, and spend a lot of time doing laundry. I call this processing. Processing is time-consuming, but well worth the effort.

After all that, the things you want to sell need to be photographed. It's a lot easier to sell something online if you have a nice picture of it to show your customers. A digital camera is a much-needed piece of equipment for this venture, because it's easier and cheaper to upload and edit the pictures on your computer. So, you have photography work to do.

I guess this is also a good place to mention that you need to educate yourself. Successful selling online requires that you be a bit more computer savvy than just knowing how to send and receive emails. You need to know how to use a digital camera to get the best pictures you can, you need to know how to edit and upload your pictures, you need to know a bit of HTML, you need to know how to list your items. (Ebay makes that easy sometimes.) You need to know how to watch out for scammers, hackers, and phishers. There are lots of other things to learn. But, don't be frightened by this. I still have lots to learn, but I kind of learn as I go; and there are lots of Ebay sellers on the discussion boards who will help you along the way.

Once you have your pictures ready, then it is time to list what you want to sell on the site. Ebay has a listing form that you can fill out and put in all the details like item title, description, pictures, price, shipping costs, etc. Listing is my favorite part of the work. It's best to be very honest in your description and mention any flaws in the item as well as playing up the good parts.

You will also be charged certain fees for listing your item. It presently costs about 35 cents to list an item and another 35 cents to put in a gallery picture that shows up in Ebay's search list. There are other "listing upgrades" that you can opt into, and they cost you more money; but I usually only do the listing fee and the gallery pic, and do quite well. Once your item sells, there is also a Final Value Fee that you pay...it's sort of like Ebay gets a cut or a certain percent of your sales for letting you sell your items on their site.

Also needed is a way to collect your money and pay your fees. Most Ebayers use an online account called PayPal. It's and easy and somewhat safe way to do transactions online. Paypal will process credit cards and e-checks for you, but they do charge a small fee for their services. You can also use and accept money orders and cashier's checks.

Yes, making money costs money. You will not run a successful business online without making some investment. So, you will need to keep track of how much your items cost you, how much you sell it for, and how much it costs you to sell it. That's how you determine whether or not you made a profit. If your Ebay venture does turn into a profitable business, then you will need to keep track of how much profit you made at the end of the year so you can pay your taxes. I call all of this Accounting Work.

Of course, once your item is sold, you will need to package it and mail it out. Believe it or not, you can order free shipping containers and boxes from the Post Office at USPS.com. You will also need tape, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, etc. You can then deliver your package or packages to the Post Office for mailing. Or, you can print your shipping labels online, and request free carrier pick-up from the Post Office; which is what I do. Getting your packages shipped also involves quite a bit of work.

There you have it: Footwork, Research, Processing, Photography, Education, Listing, Accounting, and Shipping. You will not make money by doing nothing. You can, however make money if you are willing to work at it.