Making Money on Ebay

As well as trying to get free money, sometimes, I just want to earn a little more. Selling on Ebay is something a lot of people turn to in order to try and make ends meet. The effort that’s required is always something that’s put me off though. “I’ll sell this on Ebay” I’ll remind myself every few weeks or so until eventually I end up with a mountain of items to sell.

People find value in the things that you no longer need, and it can be lucrative. Especially if you need some spare change.

Declutter and Profit

This is the category I fall into. Being the nerd that I am, if I want to upgrade some tech, I eventually get around to selling my old items to help claw back some of the cost of the new stuff. You can do this with anything that you no longer need around the house. I recently sold some old tech and other unwanted gifts on Ebay an managed to make just under £300 in profit.

Flipping on Ebay

“Flipping” on Ebay is not something that I’ve tried but I know that a lot of people make a killing doing this. Flipping is where you buy items specifically to resell, anything from clothes to cars and beyond. If you’re knowledgeable about certain products and know where to pick up items cheap, you can re-sell successfuly to make a profit.

The key to selling on Ebay

I used to draw out the process of selling so much that I would almost put it off completely.

Good pictures of your items are a must! Being a photography enthusiast, I would always try and get the best product shots of my items. Meaning I’d setup some good lighting and backgrounds before attempting to take the photos. So much time and effort involved here. I have to admit, the camera on my current phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 8) was more than up to the task of taking high quality enough photos for Ebay on my last sale collection. I didn’t even use a computer. Everything was done from my phone.

You need to be descriptive. Use as many words as you can to sell your item. As an example, “Black Coat” is something completely different to “Black leather coat, with fur lining. Size large, hardly worn, great condition jacket”. That sounds like an ugly coat, but you get the idea.

Be honest. You’re selling this expensive thing because it’s a bit temperamental? Let people know. It saves hassle in the long run, but people might like fixing things. Something’s a bit scratched? Take photos and explain why, how and where. It sounds crazy, but believe me.

Timing makes everything. You don’t want your auction ending at 3am. People like to bid on things right up to the last minute. I can’t remember where I read it, but some time ago, I saw that a popular time for auctions to end was a Sunday evening.

Downsides of Ebay

There unfortunately are bad points to Ebay too. Some items might just not sell, you have to take the good with the bad. And if your item does sell, a buyer might decide that they just don’t want to pay. Or communicate that fact. It’s annoying to say the least.

Thankfully Ebay make things a lot easier to try and combat these situations. Buyer didn’t pay? Click the “Relist” button to start the auction again.