Can anyone tell me how to actually make money on eBay?

Question

Really need some honest answers not jokes

Answer 1

This isn't a joke...but I think you should sell something people want. Be original and invent something.

Answer 2

'Tis a fair question, m'lady, as the inherent problem with ebay is that you end up paying (yourself) for the listing (to ebay) and you're never quite sure if your item is going to actually sell for more than you're asking. Plus you've gotta do all the packing and schlepping the thing to UPS. And if it doesn't sell, you've spent money to post a listing and gotten nothing from it.

Of course we'd all like to think we're selling something awesome and that there'll be this maelstrom of bidding towards the end, but that doesn't always happen. Plus, if you list the "Buy It Now" at too high a price, then no one will even use that option. But if you put it too low, you won't make any money.

I'd make sure you're listing something you're pretty sure will sell at a good price (concert/event tickets, well-kept electronics like an X Box 360). Unfortunately items with a purely subjective value (art, antiques, clothes) rarely hit the "make money" bar, so I'd avoid those.

In short, something that has a medium-high base value will tend to sell well. My advice? Do a search of an item on ebay similar to what you're looking to sell, and see if there are at least 5 bids. If you see lots of items with 'zero' bids with 1 hour to go, that's definitely not a good sign.

Best of luck!

PS: You can always try craigslist: it's free!
PPS: Take good, clear pictures with no background. A neutral-colored bedsheet works well for medium items.

Answer 3

Buy something for cheap or take something you already have that you'd be better off without, and sell it at a profit. As far as a business, you'll be going to garage sales and buying junk worth money, (you'll be an expert appraiser by the end of all you go through to get your money) or actually having your own wholesale goods to sell for a profit with a proper picture with good lighting and angle of the full product, good descriptive subtitles and enforcing a sense of urgency and value in the sale of your item in the item description, which will be very descriptive.

Answer 4

I understand your frustration, but at this point in time it is nearly impossible to make money on eBay selling things unless you make it yourself.

You cant buy things in enough quantity to underbid the big guys, and eBays new pricing structure makes it impossible to have a store.

There are alternatives, such as:
Yahoo Auctions
WagglePop
iOffer
uBid

Most of these do not charge anything until you actually sell something, so it's possible to make some money using these.

Answer 5

take stuff that has a low value and sell it for higher. Also, make sure you charge for shipping, but charge a few $'s over so you make more cash.

For example, if you are selling a camera that you got for $100 and have never openned it, have the starting bid be $105 so you will at least make $5 off it. Just like the stock market, buy low, sell high

Answer 6

If you want to sell something for $60, put a 60 reserve on it, and start the bidding out low ($5 or so).

Look on e-bay for a list of the items most sold. It should be on the home page.

I've had good luck with old costume jewerly lately.

Answer 7

A lot of people do dropshipping...check it out, basically you eliminate the middle man, so you sell stuff at wholesale prices and most of the time you only advertise for others and they ship it directly to your customer, so you don't have to worry about inventory, shipping etc.

Answer 8

sell somthing very good and reasonable like the ps3 wii and such
good luck

Answer 9

sell stuff for a good price

Answer 10

sell your gear babe