Has anyone made any decent money on Ebay?

Answer 1

Ebay is a good tool to make money, but I think it is oversimplified and overrated. When I was younger I used to deal quite a bit in sportscards, and was succesful in exploiting some market inefficiencies in Ebay. I even had some decent profit margins on purchasing items from Ebay, remarketing, and achieving significantly higher prices. Basicly I believe the strategy to make money can be summed up in a few key points.

1. You need inventory that is purchased for a price below what you can realize on Ebay.

2. Items that are sold on Ebay in large quantities for large $ usually sell for less than they would if they were sold in smaller quantities.

3. If there is uncertainty regarding authenticity or reliability of a seller, lower prices result.

The first item is a principle of any business, but much underated in the "get-rich-quick" Ebay scheme of things. My experience is to exploit any items of value that are produced in the area you live in. For example if there is a particular art, antique, vehicles, or other item that is plentiful in your regional market and thus cheap, but rare on the national scale and thus pricey, you have found a source of inventory that can be turned around for a nice return.

Additionally the ability to accurately value what a particular genre of item will sell for on the open market is extremely valuable. This will allow you to purchase the corect items in any market setting and achieve the best market price when you sell it through Ebay. This skill is key with my listed item 2. Accurately knowing a breakup value for a large and pricey lot will let you purchase items on Ebay, and then turn them around for a quick profit.

In summary, yes you can make money on Ebay, but, at the end of the day, it is just like any other business model that is resolving an issue of quantity and distribution.

Answer 2

Depends on what you think is decent because it does take a while. I made $AUS 1000.00 in a month by selling stuff I was going to throw out into the garbarge so it was worthwhile, but it's not something I'd want to do all the time.