Making money on ebay is possible. Even making really good money on ebay is possible. Not only that, it can create an interesting hobby and pastime as well as generate some extra income.
WHOLESALERS ARE NOT SO GOOD:
You can hook up with wholesalers who supply the product and take care of all the shipping for you. All you do is put the item up for sale(from their often impressive selection) through your ebay account. Once you have a buyer(bidder) who is willing to pay your price, you pass on the delivery information. You pay the wholesaler whatever his asking price for the item is and your profit is the difference between that price and the price your buyer pays. The wholesaler also quotes you a delivery cost which you pay as well. You pass that cost on to the buyer. Or increase it or decrease it as you like.
The problem with wholesalers is that there are dozens of people buying the same items from them. Everybody tries to go lower than everyone else and it gets to the point, the only way you can make a few dollars is by pretty well selling the product at wholesale and increasing the shipping price by a few dollars. It really is just not worth using wholesalers. If anything, through my experience, Ebay is a real buyers market. Selling takes some serious effort.
THE KEY TO ANY BUSINESS:
Do you ever notice how so many restaurants fail? It is really no surprise because most of them have the same old menu and don't offer anything different. I always thought that my city needed a really good breakfast restaurant. I don't mean one of those big chains. A breakfast restaurant that offered a different menu. Well, someone had the sense to open one and business is not only booming. She has opened her fourth outlet. There are line-ups for breakfast every weekend. Because its different.
That is how a person should approach ebay. Be different. Sell something different. You have a world wide market. You can sell pretty well anything and the rarer it is the better. That way you are not competing with 50 other people selling the very same item. For instance. I had an autograph from a Russian figure skater who competed in the 1988 Olympics. As far as I know, she was chaperoned every minute of the day. She never signed autographs. The only way I got one was because I knew her coach and she got it for me. Last year I put it up for auction because I felt sure there was someone out there who would love to have it. I could not believe it! The bidding went crazy. It got crazier as time was running out on the auction. To make a long story short, I sold that autograph for $375 USD. WOW!
I had started the bidding at one dollar. Go figure.
TRY YOUR HOME FIRST THING:
Who knows what you might have around? Maybe something that's been tucked away in an attic or a dark corner of a closet. Somebody could really want it. If its not doing you any good, put it up for aution! You might be pleasantly surprised. Maybe you have some really unique old records or dishes hidden away somewhere.
GO TO GARAGE SALES:
Some people have no idea of the value of some of the items they are selling for $2.50. Do your homework. Learn what things are worth. You could very well turn that few dollars into $25 dollars or more. That's a pretty good mark-up.
ESTATE SALES ARE GREAT:
Estate sales can be a goldmine. There are items that have been in a family for generations and auctioneers don't really haggle all that much. They have a lot of items to sell, and if you are on the ball, you can get some real bargains. Don't forget that somewhere in the world there is a collector for pretty well anything. Dolls, toys, stamps, action figures, comics, sports cards and the list goes on and on.
TAKE UP ANTIQUING:
This is what I did and I just love it! I go to antique shops in whatever city I happen to be in. It is such a great way to spend a few hours or even a day. It is also a great way to learn. I have found some real gems and I also found some items I thought would sell but didn't. Mainly because I didn't do my homework. There is a real market for books. However, there is also just so much to learn about them. A book signed by Hemingway can sell for 15-20 thousand dollars. You would probably get more than that for Ian Flemings first edition of CASINO ROYALE. That's because I believe there were only about 1200 copies printed.
Who knows what corner a copy might be sitting in collecting dust? A first edition is always more valuable than the ones to follow. I always look for books over 100 years old in good condition. There are many people who collect books and they are an excellent item to sell on ebay. Just do your homework first.
I also keep my eyes open for art. Especially art signed by the artist. Art is also something that you can buy on ebay and resell just weeks later at a profit. If you are bidding on a piece of art and the action is hot and heavy and many people are after it, chances are if you win the auction, you have a great chance of reselling it. One thing I learned. If you buy art on ebay, make sure it is something you like and would not mind keeping if you can't sell it. You can put a reserve on an item if you don't want to let it go too cheaply. If you don't get your minimum price, you don't have to sell.
START OUT SMALL:
If you have never sold on ebay, start out small just so you can get used to how it works. It can be a lot of fun. Once you get to know what you are doing and what items are in demand it can be more than fun.
It can be very profitable.
