have people made alot of money selling on ebay what does it entail .?

Question

Is there a charge on ebay to sell your stuff on line. Is it alot of work and how do you get the stuff your selling on ebay. Is there a good book out there to get you started.

Answer 1

There are a number of people that have made very good money selling on eBay.

There are also a large number of people that have made very good money telling you how to make money selling on eBay. Most of their offerings entail how to find items to sell at ridiculously high margins and how you can line your pockets with wads of cash.

Does eBay cost money to sell on? Yes, without a doubt. They get insertion fees (basically a fee that you pay regardless if you item sells or not) and they get final value fees which is basically a % of the final sale price (think of it as a commission).

They also have a number of ways to make money through "add-ons" when you list your item. Fancy graphics, fonts, highlighting, and getting you to upload a number of pictures all drive the price of your listings up.

Now, my advice is to skip all the window dressing that they offer and go with a simple auction format. No bells, no blinking icons, no soundtracks. Just a couple of well lit, in focus pictures of what your selling along with a nicely written description of what it is and what condition it's in.

Simple to put together. Simple for a prospective bidder to read and understand, and above all it's cheap to get in.

Now, how much money will you make? Well that depends on what you sell. If you're cleaning out your closet of some old collectibles that have a good following you will definitely make money.

If you're thinking of finding the latest "got to have it widget" and buying it wholesale then you may be in for a harder time. Profit margins on this type of item are very tight and there's a lot of competition.

My advice is to find a few things around you house that are in good working order that you no longer use. Take a few digital pictures of them, write a good basic description of the item and put them on eBay to see how they do.

Don't overprice them, remember people are looking for a good deal and this is an auction. Lower prices drive interest and bidding, bidding drives up the price. If you want $100 for your widget it's better (IMO) to put it up for auction at $9.99 and let the bidders drive it up. If it's worth what you think it's worth you'll get very close to -and often times more- than what you asked for.

I also don't recommend sinking a lot of money in those self advertised "eBay Business Kits" or books. There is a lot of good, FREE information on how to setup an auction right on eBay's web site (pages.ebay.com/education) that will walk you through the how's and why's of auctions. I also recommend checking out eBay "Community" boards (again, good FREE advice), for advice on writing good ad copy, taking good pictures, and overall selling strategies.

Start slow with a couple of items so you don't get overwhelmed and get a good feel for the flow of the process. You'll be amazed at what you might have thought was junk is actually worth something to someone.

Good luck.

Answer 2

of course you can make money on ebay. people make tons of money on ebay. you have to have a good idea though, and some contacts for wholesaleing. then you have to have a state tax id number, a business licence, etc. i am starting an ebay business. if you are serious, i guess you could email me. it takes a lot more than you think. [e-mail]
i have even heard of people just going around town and buying stuff at local stores (retail) and then posting the stuff for more than it's worth, and making a thousand dollars a month. now, thats not a lot, but for some extra money it's pretty good. i don't know if i would try that though.

Answer 3

If your going to sell somethign on ebay, it has to be cheap! Check what you want to sell, and see how much it is selling for. I tried to sell computers on ebay before, but found out people were selling them cheaper than the price i was buying the parts..

To start of an ebay business, you should buy a lot of 1p items, to get feedback. Then when you have 100+ feedback, start selling. Start with old junk from your house. In the item discription make sure you put enough info for when poeple search.

For Example, if your selling a Little Boys Coat, rather than putting "BOYS COAT" as the title put "Boys / Babys Coat 12 - 18 Months from NEXT BNWT" (BNWT = Brand new With Tag)

Good luck!

Ebay selling fees are about 35p per item, depends on how you list it. I find that if i list someone starting at 99p, it sells more than if i start it of for £100. Paypal also takes a small % of your profit, but i think its worth it - for example. An old Guitar - at a car boot sale would go for £10, on ebay it could go for £100 or more..

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/fees.html - click here for info about fee's

Answer 4

Ebay charges you a fee, plus if you want to use PayPal to get pay (recommended) they charge you extra. What takes the most time is to write the description. You need to write an accurate and efficient one in order for your item to sell high.

Answer 5

Yes, there are fees. Go to ebay.com, check the help section for FEES and charges.

It is as much work as you want it to be. I have been selling for 4 years, have sold 12,000 items, and profit about $3,500 a month. It is my full time job. I left a coporate marketing job because I was making more on ebay part time, than I was at the other job full time.

This book will help you -

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stay-At-Home-Moms-Guide-to-Successful-Ebay-Selling_W0QQitemZ9511531157QQihZ007QQcategoryZ102483QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Please contact me if I can be of further assistance.

Best of luck!

Answer 6

EBay is okay. But their fees are outrageous. And if you use pay pal to get your payments they take out $0.30 and a percent of it. I did eBay for a couple of years, and I have quit .. the fees are just too much!

Answer 7

It's a matter of having what people want. It seems you don't know much at all about eBay. Try something else.

Answer 8

yea a small charge but u can sell for what ever price u want :D lol or take the highest bid u can make alot of money or hardly any try it out ull like it ;)

Answer 9

it's so frustrating when you are interested in doing something, and when you ask for advice people automatically shoot you down, and basically tell you you can't do it, try something else. thats so rude. he might not know much about ebay, but he obviously wants to learn, and he can find out what it takes. isn't that what yahoo answers is about? learning and discovering and helping eachother out?

Answer 10

people have made money but if u like to make more money with ebay then u shall visit the site
http://freewebs.com/ashweria/ads.html